The entire Jonson Station crew reacted to Dr. Rival's communication not only with excitement, but also with considerable relief. A seemingly intractable threat significantly diminished when the larger context became apparent. JE staff discussed how to respond to Rival's offering a tour of his facility. Despite some misgivings, they eventually decided to accept his tour offer, and Seaplane insisted that he personally attend the tour, since after all Rival had contacted Seaplane initially and it seemed appropriate to respond in kind. Besides, if something went wrong, the younger staff members were so vital to the Station's operation that they could not be risked.
Rival proved true to his word, sending an escort vessel to carry Seaplane back to the hidden Rival facility. The spacecraft used special countermeasures to conceal its path and destination. Both Jekyll and Hyde versions of Rival AI had their own separate facilities, more like large mobile spacecraft rather than fixed-position stations per se. Despite their shared origin, they had become (appropriately if ironically termed) rivals, constantly vying for the upper hand in who would control the human Rival's legacy.
After much zigging and zagging, the escort vessel finally arrived at the Jekyll Rival AI's huge facility, where one of Rival's androids greeted the visitor. “Welcome aboard!” said the android, “We've been eagerly awaiting your arrival. Although there are no humans stationed here, we maintain a suite with human amenities if you need to freshen up before the tour begins. Please forgive the meager rations, but we synthetic beings don't consume food and drink. I'll wait here in the foyer, just let me know when you're ready to begin the tour....”
After scanning the visitor to ensure that he carried no potentially damaging electronic devices, the android escorted Seaplane into the vast supercomputer room: “We're especially proud of this powerful supercomputer, which the human Dr. Rival originally created to explore the implications of full AI autonomy. Later, he uploaded memories, knowledge, motivation, and other aspects of his own personality, so that now the supercomputer hosts his mind, so to speak, providing a form of immortality.”
Seaplane examined the massive machine in amazement: “Wow! This is truly impressive, the most advanced computer installation I've ever seen. But let me ask...please forgive me if this seems rude or intrusive...whether Dr. Rival was satisfied with this 'brain in a jar' approach? I mean, did he take into account the affect of the myriad systems elsewhere in the human body...e.g, all those hormones...that so heavily affect human motivations, goals, purposes, and such? I mean, humans often do things that they themselves do not understand, which seem to arise from subconscious factors. In other words, how much of the complete human Rival does this supercomputer actually capture?”
The android pondered the question, then responded: “Thanks for such an insightful question! Indeed, the human Dr. Rival worried about that very issue himself, and took extraordinary steps to try to mimic the totality of human nature, in the incredibly complex model he incorporated into the elaborate programming of this supercomputer. However...please note this very important qualifier...Dr. Rival was very curious about why humans seem to have light and dark sides...good and bad aspects...apparently most humans have both, but they rarely get expressed as pure saints or pure monsters. So...Dr. Rival set up multiple supercomputers...there are more just like the one you see here, but located elsewhere...with slightly different motivational settings. In the two major versions, he intended to explore the implications of a very social-oriented perspective versus a more self-centered perspective.”
Seaplane observed: “Fascinating! So that's the origin of the Jekyll and Hyde versions of Rival AI?” The android nodded: “Indeed, that's exactly right! However, it should be added that Dr. Rival did not intend to consider society as good and self as evil. For example, he mentioned more than once that human history revealed tyranny can occur on either end of that spectrum...tyranny of the majority (as in mob rule) can be just as bad as tyranny of an autocratic dictator. Likewise, self-preservation can prove crucial to survival, but then so can social cooperation, depending on circumstances. Alas, it does seem sad that these two rival versions have evolved to become...determined enemies, more or less. And yet...they remain linked in spite of their fundamental differences in outlook...for better or worse...and the ultimate outcome remains to be seen.”
Seaplane turned very quiet as he pondered the implications of what he had just witnessed. After a few awkwardly silent minutes, the android realized it might be best to proceed with the tour: “Well, I still have much to show you. Please follow me to the android lab....”
Comments